SOCIALIST HOUSING IN OSIJEK

Abstract

Quality of an apartment is one of the basic determinants of the quality of life of its user. Modern lifestyle and housing needs have changed dramatically in recent decades as a result of various social and economic factors. The aim of the paper was to review the housing settlements, apartment buildings, and apartments constructed during the period of socialism in the City of Osijek in order to define their characteristics and provide a basis for future research on the city’s housing stock quality and the possibility of its adaptation to contemporary housing needs. The research encompasses 32% of the total housing stock of the City of Osijek, or more precisely, 24 residential areas with 503 apartment buildings and 13 610 apartments. As the sample contains a large number of apartments, for the purpose of easier analysis, it was categorized according to shorter time periods reflecting the housing policy periods within which the structures were built. The results show that Osijek’s residential areas were built mostly within existing city blocks, and they contain freestanding or built-in elongated four-story apartment buildings. The average Osijek apartment is a “corridor apartment” with two rooms, and the average net area is 53.53 m2.